Four Attitudes for a Clear Mind — Kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity
Kindness to the happy, compassion to the suffering, gladness at the good, and calm toward the wayward — cultivating these clears the mind.
When others prosper, do I rejoice with them, or does my own mind cloud over first?
📝Reflection
This is the most beloved verse in the Yoga Sutras. Prasādana means "becoming clear and serene" — muddy water settling into transparency. The wonder is that these four attitudes are not for others' sake but a prescription that clears one's own mind. Meet others' happiness with maitrī (kindness) and envy dissolves; meet their success with muditā (glad rejoicing) and jealousy melts. The keenest is upekṣā (equanimity) toward the wayward — a distance that neither hates nor gets swept along. How we treat others sets, in the end, the clarity of our own mind.
🌱Apply It Today
When you hear someone's good news today, offer a sincere 'I'm glad for you' inwardly — it clears your own mind first.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
